


Where have you been?

by vague_faint_distortions



Series: The Snickets' Strenuous Search [2]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket, All the Wrong Questions - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Anagrams (as per usual), Coded books, Finding missing persons, Gen, Libraries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-07-03 17:51:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15823947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vague_faint_distortions/pseuds/vague_faint_distortions
Summary: Times may be changing for the better after all.





	1. When in doubt, go to the library

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read the previous story in this series you probably should, since *cough cough* spoilers...
> 
> Just saying but I'm really excited about this one!!

The library was the only place Beatrice felt completely at peace. Even in Lemony’s apartment, she still felt uneasy at times, although she was unsure why it was so. Whenever she became bored, or stressed during her search for her siblings and the occasional volunteer mission she helped with Lemony, the library was always the place to go. She could get lost in the shelves for hours, browsing through the innumerable books she planned on devouring. It was a safe haven where she could escape, temporarily, from most of her troubles and woes, and imagine a different universe where times were better, and there were mostly happy endings. She was old enough (thirteen years old, to be precise) to know that it wasn’t always so in the real world, but it never hurt to imagine.

On that particular morning, Beatrice awoke with a start, panting heavily, with cold sweat beads forming on her forehead. A nightmare, again. This time it was different than before—Lemony and Sunny disappeared and while Beatrice was trying to find them she encountered Violet and Klaus, who had defected to the fire-starting side, and VFD had kidnapped Lemony and Sunny. The last thing she could remember was hearing the ominous cackle coming from Violet’s mouth. Beatrice, get yourself together. No one has disappeared, and you haven’t found V and K yet, she reprimanded herself.

She checked the clock. 7:13. Since she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep again, Beatrice changed from her pyjamas and left her bedroom. She could smell the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen, and she poked her head through the doorway, where Sunny was sizzling some pancakes.

“Hi, Bea!” Sunny called cheerfully. “You woke up early today.”

“Morning, Sunny. I had nightmares again, and I couldn’t sleep.” Beatrice sighed. “What pancakes are you making?”

“Blueberry and fig ricotta pancakes with caramelised bananas. Do you want to try some?” She handed Beatrice a small plate.

“Mmhmm. It’s great as always.” Beatrice licked her lips and smiled, for Sunny never failed to impress her with her culinary creations. “Where is Uncle Lemony?”

“I don’t think he’s awake yet.” “When he wakes up, please tell him I’ll be at the public library, although hopefully I won’t be for long.”

“Sure. You’ve been stressed lately, huh?”

“I guess, with all the nightmares and stuff, I just need to clear my head a bit, you know. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Bea, have another pancake before you go!” Sunny called, but she had already left.

 

* * *

 

Beatrice had already memorised the book titles she had planned on reading in the library (Lemony had recommended _Anna Karenina_ , so she decided to start with that), but once she got there and started browsing the shelves again, a thick, hardback volume she hadn’t noticed before, hidden skilfully behind a colourful pile of children’s fiction books in another aisle caught her eye. Beatrice walked to the shelf and picked the book up, inspecting the cover closely while wondering why she hadn’t seen it before. After all, she was certain she had memorised every book in the children’s literature section. The cover was a dull grey, and in the centre was a small silhouette of a boy. The hardback was titled, “Lost: the tale of a vehement, fierce and desperate boy in search of his family”, written by an author she never heard of. It’s strange how we share similar circumstances, Beatrice thought. She read the blurb, which described a homeless orphan trying to find his siblings. Now she was captivated. Whatever novels she had originally planned on reading would have to wait. Beatrice flipped a few pages, and nearly dropped the volume when she read the dedication:

_Beatrice—_

 

> _Dearest mother, friend and daughter too. Where have you been?_

Who- who wrote this? Beatrice was almost certain of the answer; she could only hope she was right. She looked at the cover again. The author: Akeal Luid Saubre… it was an anagrammatic pseudonym, there was no doubt about it.

She solved the anagram, as she had been trained to do, in mere seconds—Klaus Baudelaire. Klaus Baudelaire! She could barely contain her excitement upon finding this lead. It was him! He must be trying to find me too, Beatrice thought, even though writing an entire book seemed too much of a far-fetched plan. She skimmed through the book, and she nearly laughed out loud when she realised—except for the first page of each chapter, the book was blank. Clearly, Klaus had counted on the average reader placing the book back upon reading the first few dreary paragraphs typical of her uncle’s style. She flipped back to the front, at the table of contents, hoping a message would be hidden there. Her eyes lit up when she reached the bottom of the page, and she immediately turned to the last and thirteenth chapter, _The Violet Hour._


	2. Don't leave me

_Chapter 13 - The Violet Hour_

_This was it, I thought. The golden sun was beginning to set, its remaining rays striking the walls of the shabby mansion I was observing. The sky had a slight purple hue, and a murder of crows flew across as they cawed noisily, as if laughing at me for embarking on such an absurd, impossible mission. Attempting to ignore them proved unsuccessful, and a gnawing feeling in my stomach tried to convince me that maybe, they were right. Maybe this search would all be for naught. Maybe I’ll never find them after all. Maybe… I stopped my doubting thoughts, and stared at the gigantic mansion again. I cowered under its massive silhouette, and it looked like the ominous building could swallow me whole. I gulped, but took a tiny step forward. If I don’t do this now, I told myself, how will I ever know the truth? That maybe they are alive, and have been searching for me too?_

_Slowly and anxiously, I rang the doorbell. Ring! Stain’d with random ink splotches, I clutch the old, wrinkled paper by which my sister’s address (I hoped) was scribbled carelessly with the fountain pen I had, unfortunately, lost when I was at sea. No one answered. From inside the house, someone asked, “Who is that?” It didn’t sound like her. I shouted back, “Where is my sister?” Finally, a woman came to the door. “I don’t know who you’re talking about. Go away.” She frowned. “Stay, please! I…” I cried desperately. But the door slammed shut with immense force. I fought back tears, gazing instead at the violet sky. The crows were gone, and so was my hope. Ring! In all my desperation, I tried the doorbell again. But the strange woman never answered, and neither did my sister._

Ring? It had to be Sebald code for sure. Very clever, Klaus, Beatrice thought. She had no idea how or where he had learned it, but Klaus had always been resourceful, so he had his ways. 

She took out her maroon commonplace book out of her bag and started to jot down the message: 

**Stain’d by the Sea is where I stay with Violet**

Stain’d by the Sea? She had heard of the place before during her training, as it was one of the places on the list for missions supervised by chaperones. And he was with Violet? It was almost too good to be true. Beatrice felt like jumping for joy upon the accidental discovery, even though it seemed a bit immature for her. She promptly checked the book out from the library and sprinted back to the apartment in full speed. 

“Uncle Lemony! Sunny! I know where Klaus and Violet are!” She burst through the doorway abruptly, and then stopped to heave and catch her breath. 

Sunny replied, “Really?” She poked her head out of the kitchen door, where it seemed she was washing the dishes. Even Lemony stood up from his chair at the table. 

“They’re in Stain’d by the Sea!” She showed them the passage in the book she borrowed, as well as the deciphered message. 

After reading it, Lemony suddenly froze, and his face hardened, turning extremely pale as shock overtook him. Stain'd by the Sea? It was so far away from the city, he was surprised that he hadn't thought of it earlier. But another part of his mind shook their head violently. It was impossible, he was never going to go back there. The distant memories of his past came flooding back, and he could do nothing to stop it. 

Neither Sunny nor Beatrice had never seen him this scared. “Uncle?” Sunny approached him carefully. 

Lemony blinked multiple times, and the trauma temporarily escaped him. “Sorry, what did you say?” 

“Klaus and Violet, they’re in Stain’d by the Sea! We need to get to the train station as soon as possible. In fact, we should start packing our bags now.” Beatrice was nearly jumping up and down from her excitement. She looped her arm in Sunny's and started to drag her to their bedroom. 

"Wait, surely there must be a way to contact him directly. Is there a mailing address somewhere in the book?" He already knew the dreaded answer, but Lemony knew he had to do anything to avoid having to go... there. 

Beatrice took the book out again and flipped to the first few pages, but, just as everyone had expected, she found nothing. There wasn’t anything at the back, either. Why would a convicted author share his mailing address, even if he was somewhat disguised with a complicated anagram? 

She looked at Lemony, but he didn’t return the gaze. He began, “Beatrice and Sunny… I awfully regret to tell you this, a phrase which here means, ‘I’m really really really really sorry,’ but I can’t go.”  

“Uncle, you promised you would help me search for my family, and now that includes Sunny too. You can’t break that promise.” 

Sunny insisted. “She’s right. My siblings are somewhere out there, and now we know a general location we can’t possibility not go there and investigate!”  

“I can’t… I really can’t. It’s difficult to explain.” Lemony knew himself he was committing a selfish act on his part, and he could not bring himself to look at the girls. 

“Uncle, you can’t do this! How could you…” Sunny raised her voice, which was rare for her. 

“I’m tired of hearing that I’m too young to know any secrets. I’m tired of being denied any answers. I’m tired of being shut out. You can’t, you can’t-” Without finishing her sentence, Beatrice choked back tears and slammed the bedroom door behind her. 

 

* * *

 

Half an hour later, Beatrice came out of the bedroom with Sunny, and they knocked on Lemony’s door. There was no answer, but Sunny peeked in anyway. He was sitting on his chair with his back turned towards them. They could see the silhouette of the skinny cigarette hanging from his mouth, with a grey cloud of smoke shrouded around his face. Beatrice declared, “The next train to Stain’d leaves in one hour, and we’re going to packing our bags and go right now, whether you like it or not!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking sooo long to update! I've been really busy with school and stuff...
> 
> But I hope you guys liked the Sebald code as much as I enjoyed writing it!


	3. An old acquaintance

 

Lemony Snicket. Apprentice. The association of associates.    
   
“What’s that?”   
   
Lemony looked up to see Sunny Baudelaire peering over him and the strange, crinkled piece of card on his lap.    
   
“Nothing.” He replied hastily. He folded the card and started to put it back in his pocket- wait, where was it? 

"Lemony Snicket... Apprentice." He looked beside him to see Beatrice reading the card, having snatched it from his grasp. "You're an apprentice?" She said it so loud even the man sitting opposite them looked up from the newspaper he was deeply engrossed in. 

Lemony gave her a glare to remind her that his real name was not to be spoken aloud in public. Agitated, he tried to take the card back, but Beatrice held on to it tightly. He replied reluctantly, "I was, once." 

"What's the association of associates? Such an odd name." The girl mused.  

"None of your business." He said harshly. The man who had previously been disturbed rose up and left abruptly, leaving the newspaper on his seat. 

Sunny quipped, "But uncle, we're going to be on this train for hours and we don't have anything better to do. Can't you just tell us? You keep so many secrets from us because we're supposedly too young to know the dangerous treachery of this world, but we've encountered an abundance of adversity already. I think we ought to know whatever it is you aren't telling us." 

Lemony sighed. How did a simple, quiet reminiscence turn into this? 

"Very well. Well before your series of unfortunate events, I endured mine too. I asked many wrong questions during my apprenticeship. Four questions, to be exact. I thought I was doing the right, noble thing, as a good volunteer should. I was almost thirteen and I was wrong. There was a town, there was a girl, and there was a theft... " 

 

* * *

 

"What happened after the Bombinating Beast came?" 

"It devoured Hangfire, and Ellington Feint never saw her father again. The Bombinating Beast disappeared into the depths of the sea... I left Stain'd on my own, and that marked the end of my apprenticeship." 

"Oh, Lemony Snicket, I think you may have missed a very important detail regarding my father's murder..." Came a purring voice from behind them. 

Lemony turned around, and, to his horror, saw those question mark-shaped eyebrows, long hair as dark as night, and an ominous smirk that could have meant nothing but trouble, in the form of Ellington Feint. 

"Ell-Ellington Feint?" He stuttered, utterly shocked. 

"Hello Snicket, long time no see. I've been trying to track you down for a very long time, and now I've found not one, but two Snickets! What great luck." 

"What do you mean?" Then he saw that beside him, Beatrice turned pale with a terrified expression on her face. 

"Ms. Feint..." Her eyes wide, she shrunk into her seat, inching away fearfully from the tall woman. 

"Beatrice, what a pleasure it is to see you again. I see you've run away from your compulsory special education programme to enjoy... family time?" Ellington replied in a false, sickly sweet tone. "What a lovely reunion. Beatrice, did it ever occur to you the grave consequences you would face when you were found? 

"How did you find us?" Lemony replied instead, trying desperately to stall for time while finding a way to escape. 

"Oh, we have eyes everywhere, you should know that. I thought you would’ve been more careful with concealing your identities, but I guess apparently not. E. was watching just a while ago, and I was notified of your whereabouts. It's a huge advantage to have living associates by your side, whereas... " She glanced at the trio with a taunting smile. "Poor Snicket, I find it surprising you haven't thrown yourself off a building yet in despair, it would save us a lot of trouble if you and your pathetic little friends were dead. 

"Speaking of which, dear Lemony, won't you tell these innocent children who murdered my father?"  

There was a pause, during which Lemony looked away from her, choosing to stare at what was beneath the seats. Beatrice gasped. "Ms. Feint... you were on the fire-starting side..." The tattered business card she had been tightly clutching before slipped away from her grasp. 

Ellington continued as if she hadn't heard her at all. "Very well, as you seem to be unwilling to do so, I'll answer on your behalf." But even before Ellington had told them, Beatrice already knew and dreaded the answer. "Hangfire was pushed towards the Bombinating Beast by your  _noble_  uncle Lemony." It was a harsh whisper, but her tone was full of bitterness and anger. "He's not as innocent as you may think, huh, children? A murderer at the mere age of thirteen!" Her mouth had twisted upwards into the same wicked smirk that they had previously been greeted by. 

Sunny blinked multiple times, her mouth the shape of an 'o', and turned to look at Lemony, though he couldn't bear to return her gaze. Beatrice, however, refused to give Ellington the satisfaction in her answer, only glaring at her with fierce resentment. Had the circumstances been less uncomfortable, Lemony would have remarked at how much she resembled Kit when she saw someone mock her brothers, usually him, back in their school days. 

The femme fatale leered downwards at Lemony, her arms crossed and the sun behind her casting a looming silhouette. It was as if she expected him to say something, but he offered no apology. It would have been useless anyway, just wasted words that meant nothing to them. 

Sunny was the one who spoke. "But Ms. Feint, even this is no reason for you to rebel and join the fire-starters. The noble side of VFD could have offered you much more than what you have become now, and it still can." 

She only sneered. "Is it just because you're the youngest, or were the Baudelaires this foolish?” Sunny grimaced at her use of past tense. “There is no right side of the schism, stupid girl! We're just chef’s salads, with righteous deeds and morally grey actions tossed together in one dish. Do you not remember suggesting to set fire to Hotel Denouement? I was watching from afar, the flames licking the pale sky as the last safe place for you 'noble' volunteers went up in smoke. Oh, never would I have imagined that the poor, cute Sunny Baudelaire had proposed such an idea!” Her mocking voice was full of sarcasm. 

“Anyway, it’s been a nice conversation, but there’s no more time to waste." With a small swoop, she produced a harpoon gun from her bag, and aimed it threateningly towards Lemony. "All three of you are coming with me, and don’t any of you dare try to do anything cheeky if you know what's good for you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for not updating in months, my excuse is just school deprives me much of my free time ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> I know Lemony hates happy endings and fairytales and stuff, but I though Beatrice might have a different opinion because well, she's younger, and maybe more naive? Eh.
> 
> Kudos or comments will be greatly appreciated :D


End file.
